Expressions researched:
"highest perfection"
|"highest perfectional"
Srimad-Bhagavatam gives all informations to attain the highest perfection of life both during the continuation of the present life as well as in the life after death.
I shall request you with all humility to cooperate with this mission and thus be benefited yourself. It is not the least exaggeration but actual fact and to become a member for this mission will to your own interest. And help others also who may be known to you.
Your desire to become the servant of the servant of Krishna is very pious. Lord Caitanya desired the same thing in order to set an example, though he was Krishna Himself (CC Madhya 13.80). The Bhagavad-gita confirms this. I am so pleased to learn that you are all living in the Brahmacari house with Jayananda & Upendra & I am more pleased that you are all working. Everyone can achieve the highest perfection of life by working in his specific capacity. Hope you are well.
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter with thanks, dated July 8, 1968, and I must say that the Rathayatra festival was so successful for your diligent labor only. If you would not have constructed such a nice ratha (car) in such a short time, it would not have been possible to perform the grand festival. By Krishna's Grace you have got the talent of carpentermanship, and you have fully utilized your energy in the service of Krishna. You have carved so many Jagannatha Murtis, and the car also, so Krishna must have been very much satisfied with your service. Srimad-Bhagavatam says that the highest perfectional stage of everyone's talent is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, by his craftsmanship, scientific knowledge, philosophical research, or similar any other energy. Please continue this attitude of service and success of life is assured for you. I have learned the description of the Rathayatra festival verbally from so many persons who came to see me from San Francisco, and I have received the photo album from Gurudasa. But I have not received any newspaper clippings, which I am very much anxious to see.
Regarding the question (In vol I, First Canto, Ch. 1, Text 1, pp. 59 of Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is stated "anyone who hands over a charity of this great work on the full moon day attains to the highest perfection of human life by going back to home, back to Godhead." Does this mean that by giving the Gayatri mantra, only vol. one, or the complete work?) it is not the Gayatri mantra, but the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The idea is that in olden days there was no press. So books were not available printed. Formerly great aristocratic families kings, and rich men, they used to engage a qualified brahmana to copy Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting, and then present it to a suitable person, especially brahmanas, in a gold casket. That was the system. But since printing machine has been introduced, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and other literature are being printed. So therefore, this reference, in the Skandha Purana, is in connection with giving Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting. That was a great work of charity. This charity, however, included the complete Srimad-Bhagavatam, and neither vol. one nor two. That was the process. Still there are many rich men in India who have engaged learned brahmanas to copy Srimad-Bhagavatam in handwriting, and they give in charity, to a qualified person, in the above way.
Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your nice letter of January 19, 1969, and I have carefully read the contents. You have stated that you have spent twenty two years of my life in the darkness of ignorance, and actually until any person has come to the standard of Krishna Consciousness he is supposed to be considered as being covered by ignorance. There are different degrees of ignorance however, and to come to the highest perfectional platform of knowledge is to surrender fully to the Lotus Feet of Krishna.
So this initiation means the preliminary chance for preparing oneself to achieve this highest perfection. I am very glad that you are already interested in the Krishna Consciousness Movement, and you will please chant at least 16 rounds daily, observing the rules and regulations. The four principle rules is that you will refrain from 1) meat-eating or partaking of fish or eggs, 2) illicit sexual connections, 3) intoxication (including cigarettes, coffee and tea) and 4) gambling. In addition to these rules there are ten offenses to chanting the Maha Mantra which should be avoided. These rules are as follows: 1) blaspheming the Lord's devotee. 2) Considering the Lord and the demi-gods on the same level. 3) Neglecting the orders of the spiritual master. 4) Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures. 5) Interpreting the Holy Name of God. 6) Committing sin on the strength of chanting. 7) Instructing the glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful. 8) Comparing the Holy Name with material piety. 9) Inattention while chanting the Holy Name. 10) Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting.
Regarding your accepting a job in the Graphics profession, I think you can accept this job because it is paying, as well as you can get experience in the profession. So as Krishna Das has advised you, I confirm it. Regarding your meeting with the Ram Krishna Mission man, you write to say that he has advised you how you should work combinedly with the Maharishi group in Hamburg, and he has said that our goals are actually the same. I do not know how our goals are actually the same. Our goal is Krishna, and we are preaching the gospel of Krishna, Bhagavad-gita as it is. In the Bhagavad-gita the point is stressed to concentrate on Krishna only, and the highest perfection of yoga process is to realize Krishna both externally and internally. We are teaching to vibrate the transcendental chanting of "Krishna" because in that way, by hearing the sound vibration of Krishna, we can see everything as diverse extension of Krishna's external energy. And because we think of Krishna always in all our activities, therefore, internally we are 24 hours in meditation with Krishna. I don't think the Maharishi group or the Ram Krishna Mission is teaching like that. So how can it be accepted that our goal is actually the same?
For some time I have been anxious to hear from you, and now that you have written I am encouraged to learn of your nice activities in Colorado. I am pleased also that Bhavananda, Palika Dasi and Prabhavati Dasi are all working so sincerely and steadfastly to promote this Sankirtana Movement, and surely Caitanya Mahaprabhu will bestow His full blessings upon all of you. This is a qualification of activities in Krishna Consciousness that if one renders even a small amount of sincere devotional service, Krishna becomes obliged to elevate such person; and what to speak of one whose entire life and soul has been dedicated to Krishna's service. So continue to push on as you are now doing and as far as possible distribute our books and magazines. Now that our press is ready in Boston, we have more than one dozen books which are ready to be printed, so with your help I wish to overflood the marketplaces with our literatures. Now people are reading all kinds of nonsense books, and thus their reading capacity is helping to pave their way through the circles of birth and death. If they will simply take to reading this transcendental literature we are presenting, the same reading capacity will elevate them to the highest perfection of spiritual life. So this is very important task we are doing, and all of you push forward in Colorado with increased enthusiasm.
Krishna as He is appearing in our Temples is in the Kisora age, and the dress which I have introduced is His dress of Kisora age. In our Temples the Deities, Radha and Krishna are worshiped as Laksmi-Narayana with all the opulences of Their Majestic Lordship in Dvaraka. The worship of Radha-Krishna as They appear in Vrndavana is a very advanced stage, so we worship Them in the Temples as Laksmi-Narayana. Actually there is no difference because Laksmi-Narayana is directly the expansion of Radha-Krishna. We are following the prescribed method of Temple worship as it is the effective program for developing the highest perfection of pure love of Krishna.
In the Vedic literature there are many recommended processes for spiritual realization, and Lord Krsna says that all of them can be avoided and if one is simply engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord that is the highest perfectional platform.
Please follow the regulative principles strictly, and chant daily sixteen rounds of beads regularly without fail. This is the essential process for dissolving the clouds of illusion or Maya; and when the cloud of illusion is removed, then we can understand Krsna Consciousness perfectly and that is the highest perfection of human life. So be fixed in devotional service, chant Hare Krsna mantra and be happy. I am waiting to hear of your further progress in spreading this Krsna Consciousness movement for the benefit of all concerned.
You have asked me to disclose my dream about John, so I beg to state the incident as follows. I dreamt that John took me in a place at Calcutta and he was showing me a house, a big palatial building, which formerly belonged to a very rich man, and he was a famous musician also. I think therefore that John was previously that man to whom that house belonged, and now he has taken birth in England. It is quite possible that he has inherited his past musical talent, and because that man was very liberal and charitable, so he has acquired some wealth also, and now in this life if he properly utilizes his talent and wealth for Krishna, then surely he will achieve the highest perfection of his life.
Therefore do not waste even a moment of this rare opportunity of human form of life. Chant Hare Krsna, be always finding out some engagement in the service of the Lord, and be happy, and by the grace of Krsna you will be freed from all contaminations of this material condition and become fit for realizing the highest perfection of life, Krsna Consciousness.
I beg to thank you for your enthusiastic service attitude, utilize it with determination in the matter of preaching this Krsna consciousness and you will quickly achieve the highest perfectional status of life namely Krsna consciousness.
The first step, so you have noted is that the dirty things which are clouding our spiritual senses must be cleansed by the Sankirtana process. So Krsna Consciousness is a purifying process. If you follow the regulations of our Society very strictly you will quickly become completely purified and thus achieve the highest perfection of life, Krsna consciousness or Love of God.
Please keep always engaged in the service of the Lord and you will never be unhappy and your life will become to the highest perfectional standard.
(ii), (iii): The Gopis' position is always transcendental. They are above karmis, yogis and jnanis. They did not even try to understand Krishna whether He was God or not, but their love for Krishna was unparalleled. So one can love Krishna without any inquiry; that is the highest perfection. To know Krishna as God is not so exalted a position as to love Krishna without knowing. That is the highest perfection. Knowledge means discrimination. The gopis loved Krishna without discrimination. They loved Him spontaneously as He was very beautiful in the view of the gopis. The objective being transcendental, all of the gopis' activities were transcendental. There is no comparison of worshiping of Krishna as conceived by the gopis—that is only to love Krishna without any purpose.
It is a basic principle that one must accept a bona fide spiritual master in order to achieve the highest perfection of life, love of God. I thank all of you very much for accepting me as your spiritual master, and I promise that I will take you back to home, back to Godhead. I ask you all to promise me to always chant at least 16 rounds, follow the regulative principles, read our books and try to preach this Krishna Consciousness Movement all over the world. So far my qualifications are concerned, I am simply trying to carry out the order of my Guru Maharaja.
By fixing your attention in this way, worrying how He will be pleased with me, you will naturally very soon reach the supreme highest perfection of life which is pure Krishna Consciousness. You should be very serious for trying for it, as I think that you are one of my senior disciples and I am very much relying on you now to carry on this mission with full responsibility. We must become so responsible for seriously practicing this art of of Krishna Consciousness, because this world is so full of degrading elements of life for dragging everyone down and down, and if just a few men can perfect the art, they can save the rest of all the people from the greatest dangers. So I count you and your godbrothers among those few men who are treading seriously on the path back to Home, back to Godhead, and now we must maintain such exalted position and not fall back by neglecting our highest standards of devotional practices.
Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your many invitations to come there to enjoy with you the Lord Caitanya Day parade and festival at Berkeley. I am always thinking of that beautiful, quiet neighborhood in Berkeley, and of all my wonderful disciples there, so when I return to USA I shall certainly come there for some time. We shall be celebrating the Appearance Day in Mayapur this year form 25th to 29th February, and then I shall be returning to Bombay for the month of March to initiate construction of our first "Hare Krishna City" on a large plot of land we have purchased there. However, if for some reason I shall return to USA before then, I shall with great pleasure come to your festival at Berkeley. At least I will be present there with you all in spirit, as always, you may know that for certain. I like very much your idea for putting eight banners across the main road with the eight Sikshastak prayers written boldly. If the students and other people study these eight prayers carefully, they will be delivered to the highest perfection of life. Also, I thank Nalinikanta for his enclosure of $15 daksina.
As for your training in theology, if you simply present some of the popular western points of view of theology and then point by point you may defeat them or expose them as speculators who are simply misleading the innocent public, and that will be a very nice service, because when intelligent people begin to understand our philosophy and theology, that it is the Absolute Truth and that if anyone become Krishna Conscious, that is the highest perfection of understanding philosophy, then our Krishna Consciousness Movement will advance very quickly because everyone like the common people respect the opinions of intelligent scholars. So if you work in this way to convince the intelligent class of men, that will be very great service and also the proper use of your educational training. Thank you very much for helping me in this way.
This meeting in Navadvipa was certainly very important and I am very much pleased that Sriman Acyutananda Maharaja has established our position. Krishna will bless him. Let him preach in that spirit, that is required. Our mission is to establish God-consciousness. We can give more information about God from authentic literature. So every religion has got some relationship with God, that is preliminary understanding. But actually what is God, how we can understand Him, how He is working by His different energies, how He is creating, maintaining and annihilating—all this information we can give in details, therefore anyone who is interested in the matter of understanding God, they should give their patient hearing to our descriptions. The result will be that his faith in God will be increased. In other words, if any person who hears from us will become a greater lover of God and learn what is the highest perfection of life.
Besides this human welfare activity for communal sharing of the material necessities of life, there is an ancient Vedic program for simultaneously raising the whole society to the highest perfection of spiritual consciousness. We are, like you, the good public leaders of your nation, interested in material improvement, but also there must be spiritual improvement as well. It is not that I should be concerned only that my wife and sons eat and get satisfaction, but I must be concerned for the ultimate well-being of everyone. By nature, everyone is endowed with individual tastes and preferences, therefore what satisfies one many may not satisfy another, so there will always be some dissatisfaction and discrepancies of all sorts. Therefore, if we try to satisfy everyone's well-being on the material platform, we shall never find the end of it, and we shall be frustrated in our attempts, and there will be protest, etc.
Yes, that is a good proposal, print many many books in African language and distribute widely, that is real preaching work. If you sell a book to someone, that is better than your speaking to them—what will your three minutes' preaching do? But if they read a book it may turn their life. Go on preaching, that is the highest perfection of activity, and do not worry for anything, Krishna is so much appreciative of this preaching work that He will give you every facility, as much as you have ambition.
It is very pleasing to me that you have distributed so many of my books and preached to the students. This is our mission of life, to somehow turn the minds of the conditioned souls to Krsna consciousness and thus give them the highest perfection of life. So you are a very sincere soul and Krsna will give you intelligence how to do this more and more.
There in London we have such big field for pushing on the preaching work, so I want that you should assist the other devotees there as much as possible and cooperate very closely for helping me in this way. These temples, they are just like oasis in the desert for the conditioned souls to quench the thirst of their desire for real happiness. So they must be organized as nicely as possible, and I know you have many talents which can be put to good use. So in cooperation with Dhananjaya and Syamasundara Prabhu, let us work together. You may assist me in this way and I shall be very much pleased upon you. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that anyone who surrenders unto Me, whether a woman, sudra, vaisya, etc., they all attain the highest perfection of bhakti-yoga, not that now I am grhastha, I am doing karma-yoga, or now I am vanaprastha, I am doing sankhya-yoga, this is all nonsense. So if you read my books, this is explained in so many places that by taking to the path of pure bhakti all the other yogas are achieved automatically, because bhakti is the culmination of yoga and the highest perfection of life. Yet at the same time it is very simple and sublime. So I do not see what is the difficulty. So as I am your spiritual master, it is my obligation to answer any questions that you may have. So please send the tape and I shall reply.
Therefore the school should be moved to India, specifically to our new gurukula project in Vrindaban, where the facility will be just to our needs and the needs of the brahmacari to develop spiritually because it is based on authentic scripture. To live in Vrindaban is the highest perfection and to grow up in Vrindaban the greatest fortune. Who can compare Vrindaban to the nasty western culture? Even to live in Mathura-mandala for a fortnight guarantees one liberation. In Vrindaban no one will place restrictions on the school and it will be encouraged by the government. The people will see such a school and the example will encourage thousands to send their children there to be trained as human beings and devotees. The cost for maintaining such a place is minimal and when compared with the exchange rate in dollars, a very substantial savings. Some have objected to the cost of transport to India for the child, but children ride at a very reduced rate and require no visa. The one way fare can be arranged at a very small cost which will be made up in no time. For the child it costs $100 per month in the USA, but in India the cost will be a fraction of that amount.
In regards to the International Yoga and Meditation Conference in Chicago, there is no need for any of our men to participate. However, you can have a Bhakti-yoga bookstall, and paintings, a painting of Dhruva Maharaja as 5 years old alone in the forest. One painting of a devotee sitting in a nice place chanting japa Hare Krishna. We have got yoga meditation . . . and quote authoritatively giving evidence: Yoginam api sarvesam, etc (BG 6.47). One who chants Hare Krishna is the topmost yogi. The highest perfection of yoga is Radharani . . . Krishna goes to Mathura and all night She is crying, "Where is My Krishna?" But what they can understand? So you can have a bookstall, and show paintings, like that.
So if possible you can try to follow the formula recommended practically by Srila Rupa Goswami, that 50% of one's income be spent for propagating Krishna Consciousness. That will be very nice, and then your business endeavours will surely be pleasing unto the Supreme Lord, as stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"O best among the twiceborn, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve, by discharging his prescribed duties (dharma) according to caste divisions and order of life, is to please the Lord Hari."
| Page Title: | Highest perfection (Letters) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur, Rishab, Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 06 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=29 |
| No. of Quotes: | 29 |